30 week mw appt and baby's head engaged - implications?

[waitinggirl]

my mw could barely feel the head today and asked whether i was feeling pressure on my pelvis - no - and then she wrote in my notes that the baby's head was engaged. i thought this was supposed to happen a few weeks before birth. presume i'm not due to give birth in a couple of weeks?

mw seemed completely unfazed by it, so am refusing to panic, just curious. anyone had experience of this?

Is this your first baby? If so, your uterus and stomach muscles are still nice and tight and it means that there is not a lot of room in there for your baby to get comfy, so he is much more likely to move down into the pelvis and engage. In second and subsequent pregnancies it can happen much later or even as labour begins. So it is nothing to worry about and you still have ages to go I am sure. My DS engaged at 31 weeks and I had him at nearky 43

Do your notes say how engaged you are? It is usually written 1/5 2/5 up to 5/5, 5/5 meaning the baby is fully engaged.

Baby could become unengaged between now and then, s/he's just trying it out. Keep track of any contractions, even BH. If they become predictable then get them looked at.

provincial - thanks for that - feeling more secure that it happens to other people and they haven't had it early. also loving the idea that my stomach muscles are nice and tight! yes, it is my first. tinkerbell will keep a lookout for contractions - haven't had any BH yet at all.

thank you!

BH are weird when they first happen because they're not like contractions. You may feel your bump go tight and it could be uncomfortable, it shouldn't hurt, and it's usually higher than normal contractions. If you get the odd one and it's when you're tired or over done it you could put it down to that if you're not used to it.

Don't over think things though, it's probably not going to happen. If you get tightenings, move, eat, drink and write it down. They will usually go quickly if you do that.

Waitinggirl - I was exactly the same. Baby has been locked, cocked and ready to rock since before 30 weeks! I'm now 36+5 and into the final stretch. Squirmy still sees pretty intent on staying down there, which is a good thing

Hi Waitinggirl, I had similar with dd- 2/5 engaged by 32 weeks, but she stayed put til 40+10, so defintely no early arrival.

Best wishes- hope this is just the abs working hard for you!